Kingdom Hearts: What Could Have Been
by Kutlessrocker
Summary: Sora is struck down and Kairi takes up the Keyblade. Now, she's thrust into a war she didn't start, but must end before everything is destroyed in this alternate timeline to the main Kingdom Hearts series. First person from Kairi's perspective. Title may change if I can think of something better.
1. Awakening

My body felt heavy as I could hear the faint screaming of a man who seemed to have a severe speech impediment. It sounded as if he were calling "Sora! Sora!" I raised up, my muscles stiff from my seemingly long sleep, just in time to see the boy I'd grown up with fall to the floor, a blade that was now disappearing protruding from his chest. "Sora!" I called out, running as fast as my aching legs could carry me. He collapsed in my arms. The blade was gone and in its place was a gaping hole that flowed a sickening river of warm, dark blood. "Sora please! Don't go!" I cried, clutching his body tightly, but it was far too late. He didn't even respond.

"Kairi! We have to get out of here!" an unfamiliar voice, different from the one before, called out.

"But..Sora!" I protested. The man, tall and dog-like in appearance, touched my shoulder. "We can't just leave him!"

"There's nothing you can do. That boy is already dead." Another man, tall with dark skin and white hair, eyes a piercing gold, said as he materialized before us. "So, you've awakened at last, Princess. You've served your purpose, but now it's over." He started walking closer, his gaze fixed on me with murderous intent. "What? Impossible…." He began to stagger.

"No...you won't...use me for this!" The glowing, transparent form of my best friend, Riku, appeared in front of him, arms spread and face contorted as if this were causing him pain. "Kairi, you gotta run! The Heartless are coming!"

No sooner than the words escaped Riku's lips, several small, black creatures with beady yellow eyes surrounded us. "Kairi I can't hold him forever! Get out of here!"

"Riku!" I reached for him, but my other hand was swiftly taken by one of my new companions, a short one with feathers and a duckbill, obviously the one the voice from earlier belonged to. He dragged me away while the dog man destroyed one of the creatures before joining us. It was all I could do to keep up, and the rest of the journey away was nothing but a blur to me.

Hours? Days? I couldn't tell, but at some point I found myself lying on a bed in a small one-room apartment in an unfamiliar town, but at least my rescuers, Donald and Goofy, seemed to know their way around town. I vaguely remembered one of the women in the house, a girl who seemed to be just a bit older than me named Yuffie, let me borrow some of her clothes. The green, turtle-necked cropped sweater was a bit big for me, covering more of my stomach than I was sure it was intended to, but it was better than staying in my bloody tank top.

I could barely hear them mutter things about Sora, the Keyhole, Ansem, and Darkness. I didn't much care. My heart ached, a gaping wound now in it that would never be filled. Sora was gone, apparently on my behalf, and I was powerless to save him.

Well, never again.

I swore to myself that I'd never be powerless to protect the ones I loved ever again. I didn't care if I had to use sticks and stones, I would protect them at all costs. This resolve caused a warm feeling in my heart that spread throughout my body. I sat up on the bed, subconsciously held out my hand, and in it appeared a large key-shaped sword. Everyone around me turned to look at what I'd just done. "What the…."

"It seems the Keyblade has a new Master. With neither Riku, nor Sora, it moved down the line to the next strongest heart nearby," a tall man, I think his name was Leon, answered. "A Princess of Heart wielding a Keyblade...I didn't even think that was possible."

I truly wished to respond, but my mind was occupied with what had filled my dreams, or at least what I thought were dreams.

I had woken up in the middle of a pitch black abyss. I stood on a giant stained glass pillar with the faces of my loved ones-mom, dad, Sora, Riku, and Selphie-surrounding a large portrait of myself. My eyes were closed and similar weapon to the Keyblade I now wielded, this one more elegant and designed after multicolored flowers, was clutched in my fist. A blonde-haired girl I did not recognize was opposite me in the portrait. She, too, carried the weapon and seemed to be sleeping. She wore a long, black coat with multiple chains on the front and the hood down. Her facial structure was somewhat similar to mine, but otherwise I had never seen this girl before in my life and I wondered what she could possibly have been doing in a display with myself and those I loved most.

Three pedestals rose from the platform I stood on, three weapons appearing to levitate above them. A silver and gold sword, black and red shield, and a blue staff seemed to beckon me to choose. A voice inside me whispered to take one and sacrifice another. I carefully deliberated my choices, deciding to take the staff and discard the sword. No sooner than the sword disappeared, a bright white light blinded me and I woke up to Donald explaining our situation to Leon.

I snapped back to reality at that point. The Keyblade disappeared and I stood in front of Leon. "Teach me how to fight. I want to avenge Sora. I know that...man...the one Riku fought off...he has to be responsible for this," I said, stuttering over the memory of Sora.

"You'd be right, Kairi. Ansem is the one who caused all this mess, and he needs to be stopped," Leon said. "The Keyblade apparently believes you to be fit enough to wield it, and it will do most of the work. All you have to do is trust it and your heart. Still, a little combat experience never hurt." He shuffled from the wall and crossed the room to the door. "Meet me at the waterway in about an hour. Aerith and Yuffie will take you shopping for new clothes in the meantime."

I turned to the two girls, a small smile of gratitude on my face. I knew I couldn't pay them back. I was broke, but they smiled back at me. "Thank you so much...for everything," I said.

"Don't mention it, Kairi," Yuffie beamed. "We're your friends. We'll be here for you every step of the way."

Being shown such kindness after only a few hours of knowing them surprised me, but then again nothing normal had happened to me since before the storm on my island. I mused to myself if running off with Sora on the raft would have actually made things better and it hadn't been just a joke. Was it even a joke? I wasn't sure about anything anymore except three things. Sora was dead, I now had to take his place as the so-called defender of the worlds, and my life would never be normal again.

Yuffie, Aerith, and I arrived at a small clothing shop and they sent me off to pick out the things I wanted. For comfort, I chose an outfit similar to my favorite, now ruined, set of clothes. I bought a simple white tank top, but the only skirt similar to my old one I could find was red and a bit longer. Still, everything matched well enough. Yuffie paid for the clothes and they led me to the waterway Leon spoke of earlier. About halfway to the waterway, we were joined by Donald and Goofy. The entrance seemed to have at one point been closed off by iron bars, however they had been all but destroyed by some strong force. Donald took the lead and froze the water before us to create a walkway. It was slippery, and I almost fell off the side several times, but we eventually made it to a large area lit by torches with Leon standing in the middle, giant sword in hand.

"Kairi, try summoning that Keyblade again. I'm going to teach you how to use it as quickly as I can, so you've got to pay attention to everything I show you," he said sternly. I raised my hand, concentrating on the weapon's form. The silver and gold key appeared in a flash of bright light and immediately I could feel the weight of it. I didn't have much experience in this sort of thing, but I didn't really have much of a choice, did I? I would avenge Sora.

"I'm ready, Leon," I confidently replied. "Teach me everything I need to know."

"I'll teach you magic, too," Donald added. "You'll need magic just as much as the Keyblade for this fight."

Leon smirked and held his sword over his shoulder. "I'm not going to go easy on you. I know this is a lot of pressure to be placed on you so suddenly, but unfortunately we have no choice."

I held up my Kingdom Key and pointed it Leon. "Let's get started. I'm ready." Leon slashed at me and I raised my Keyblade to block his attack. The force caused my knees to buckle, but I stood my ground for a few seconds before crashing to the ground and dropping my Keyblade. I picked the weapon up again and aimed a strike at his torso, which he easily deflected. The Keyblade, seemingly knowing my lack of combat skills, appeared to go into autopilot from that point on. It guided my muscles in ways I hadn't even thought to move. Dodge here, roll there, strike, repeat. It was very surreal, but at the same time, empowering. I wasn't alone in this fight. My grip on the weapon tightened and I let the Keyblade guide me while adding my own power to each attack. I was a Princess of Heart. I had to have some kind of power of my own. Light surged through the Keyblade and fired a beam at Leon, which he barely deflected, his face a look of awe. That was the only time I could find it to use that move for the rest of the session, but simply knowing it was there was enough for me.

Leon and I trained for several more weeks until he saw my training was satisfactory. Magic seemed to come naturally to me, so my training with Donald didn't take as long until I was at the level he had said Sora was. Using the Keyblade was now second nature to me. I felt as if I were one with the weapon. We didn't just limit our training to the cave, either. Occasionally, Heartless would attack the town, which gave me an excellent opportunity to learn about them and grow in experience. The ones I hated the most, the Defenders, seemed to be some of the most abundant in Traverse Town. I'd gotten more than a few burns from the fire and ice they would spew from their shields. Cure magic, my favorite, helped with most of that. Still, I needed to get better. I needed to be stronger if I was going to fight Ansem and survive.

I sat at the end of my bed, collecting my few things together which consisted of two changes of clothes, my Thalassa shell lucky charm, and a sketch pad with some colored pencils. Donald and Goofy had been holding the majority of the possessions they had acquired with Sora before his death. The only things unaccounted for were the keepsakes Sora had been given in the worlds they'd visited and several high-powered Potions and Elixirs. I didn't much care for the missing potions as they were relatively cheap anyway according to what I'd seen window shopping. Jiminy Cricket, whom I met shortly after my arrival on Traverse Town, kept the munny, so we weren't going to be broke. And even if we were, the Heartless seemed to hold on to some of their personal articles during the transition and dropped rather decent amounts of it upon destruction.

"Kairi, are you ready to go?" Jiminy asked. He was so small, I didn't even notice him until he had hopped up onto my knee.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. We can't sit here forever and just do nothing, after all," I answered with my best attempt at optimism. I feared it was too transparent for it to work on the small cricket man, but he either didn't pick up on it or got the message and smiled in spite of all of this too. Jiminy jumped down off my knee onto the bed and walked toward my new belt, which had several pouches for potions and cash.

"Do you care if I travel around in one of these pouches?" he asked as he sized up one that would be a perfect fit for him and his small pens, pencils, and books. "I used to sit in Sora's hood, but that wasn't always the most stable place to be."

"Not at all, Jiminy. You can stay in one of them if you want," I said.

Jiminy smiled wide and hopped up into the pouch. I picked up the belt and tied it around my waist. I'd have to get used to the leather rubbing against the small bit of exposed skin my tank top didn't cover, but it was only a minor complaint. My other changes of clothing, a purple sweater and dark blue denim pants for colder areas and a t shirt for when I had to wash my current clothing, didn't have that problem. I summoned Kingdom Key into my hand and studied the weapon for a while. This was the blade Sora used to slay countless Heartless for the better part of the last year, and now it was mine suddenly. According to Goofy, it had originally been meant for Riku, and then moved down to Sora, so I was its third choice. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but the thought of "why us" ran through my mind on more than one occasion. What had been so special about the three of us that the same weapon would choose us out of everyone else in the entire universe? And a weapon of such power at that. Ansem's reports, which Jiminy had saved and archived, spoke of the Keyblade at some length as a weapon able to bring both salvation and chaos to the worlds. What were the odds that three simple islanders would be chosen to wield such power? Those were questions I couldn't answer. And at that, me having the status as Princess of Heart was something else I couldn't wrap my mind around. Apparently I had immense powers of Light locked away deep in my heart, but they weren't doing me much good. All it meant at the time was they were a giant target on my back, a weapon that the forces of Darkness wanted to wield to destroy the worlds. I could practically smell Darkness, yet I had none of my own. I would go and speak to the other six like me when we returned to Hollow Bastion. Maybe they would help me unlock this power.

No sooner than I opened the door outside did I run into Cid. He had just extinguished his cigarette and tossed it into the nearby public ashtray. The smell still lingered around him and caused my nose to wrinkle in slight disgust. I hated the smell of cigarette smoke so much. "Cid, can you get me back to Hollow Bastion?" I asked.

He scratched his chin and looked slightly distressed at my request. "Well, Kai, I can, but I won't. That place is way too dangerous for you. It's crawlin' with Heartless and they'd tear your ship apart."

I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes. "I have to go, Cid. Riku's probably still there and Sora…" I fought back tears from the thought of them. "I just have to go Cid! Please, you have to help me get there. I can fight."

Cid sighed and looked away from me with his arms crossed at his chest. "In that waterway, the one Leon trained ya in, there's a Navigation Gummi block that will take you to a direct route from this town to Hollow Bastion. I stored it there cause I thought I might use it someday. Never thought It'd be used by a kid."

"Thank you, Cid," I said, and ran to the waterway. It took a fair bit of searching, but I finally found a false panel on the mural at the far end. Inside was a small square block. It didn't even look like a part to the ship I rode in on, but Cid was the Gummi expert, not me.

I opened the door to Cid's Gummi workshop and handed him the part. "Here, how quickly can you have this installed, and how much do I owe you for the labor?" I asked.

"By tomorrow morning, and no charge. I didn't charge Sora for the ones he brought me," he said. "He was a good boy. You and that Riku kid were all he talked about. I'm sorry for the loss."

It had been a little over a month since Sora died, but it still hurt just as badly as when I held him while he bled out. I put a hand over my stomach and tried to hide the pain. Cid didn't seem to notice. "Thank you. I'll be back in the morning, then," I said. I gave him a quick hug and dashed back to the house in the third district to prepare for tomorrow's journey back to Hollow Bastion. Something told me I needed all the rest I could get. I changed into a pair of pajamas Yuffie gave me and fell asleep just as soon as my head made contact with my pillow.


	2. Deep Space, Deep Thought

I awoke the next morning to the sound of Donald arguing with Goofy outside my room over who would be piloting the Gummi ship. "I was always second in command, I should do it!" Donald said.

"But the last time you took the wheel, we crashed into the jungle and got separated," Goofy countered,

"Only cause Sora struggled," Donald quickly clarified. He made a small, sad quack and, through the hazy sleep in my eyes, I could see his face droop and eyes close. "I miss Sora…"

Goofy leaned down to embrace his shorter friend and my heart ached for them. Donald returned the display of affection. Sora was their friend, too, and they'd been just as hurt by his death as I had. "I do too, Donald…." Goofy said sadly. "I miss Sora too."

I sat up in the bed and slipped my shoes on. "Hey...I overheard you two talking about who would fly the ship," I said as I walked out to where Donald and Goofy were. "It reminded me of Sora and Riku, and whenever they'd argue like that I would have them run a race to decide." I tried to smile a little. A happier memory flooded my mind. It was a memory of the next to last day we had on the island before the Heartless came. Riku had given Sora a tiny heart attack when he said the prize for winning their race would be to share a Paopu fruit with me. I would have gladly shared one with both of them. They were my two best friends, and now our trio was torn apart in the worst way it ever could have been.

Donald smiled at me and Goofy followed. "Sounds like you three were the closest friends," Goofy said.

"We were, Goofy," I confirmed. I smiled sadly and took a sudden interest in the wall beside me. "I loved them."

The taller man gave me a small hug and I returned it. The tender moment was soon interrupted, though, as Cid appeared at the end of the hall. "I put that part in. You're set to go anytime," he called out.

I nodded and returned to my room to gather my belongings. I made sure my belt was stocked with supplies and I summoned my Keyblade once more to look at it. I studied the oddly shaped chain at the end and held out the lucky charm I made shortly before we left the Destiny Islands. "I'm gonna need all the luck I can muster," I muttered to myself as I unclipped the old charm and attached mine to the end. In a flash of light that almost caused me to drop the Keyblade, it changed shape. No longer did it look like an ordinary skeleton key. Rather, it took a more ornate and elegant form. The blade split into two slim, parallel blades with empty space in the middle and sharper edges to them. The end changed from the teeth of a key to a blue, purple, and yellow star-like shape and the hand guard changed to appear like wings. A heart made the tip that attached the teeth to the blade itself and another heart was hollowed out at the hand guard. It was beautiful, dangerously sharp, and felt much lighter in my hand than the old form had. I could feel greater magical power radiating from it now. I stuffed the original chain in my pocket and dismissed the Keyblade. It was time to leave and I didn't want to waste any time getting back to Hollow Bastion.

Donald parked the ship just on the outskirts of town. The walk wasn't a very long one, but every step carried a certain amount of weight to it. I dreaded seeing that awful place again. Was Sora's body still there? Had it been picked off by hungry Heartless? I didn't know and I wasn't too excited about finding out. My feet were heavy. My heart crawled up into my throat and threatened to choke away my breath. If Donald or Goofy noticed me acting strangely, they didn't say anything. Whether it was out of compassion, pity, or just plain obliviousness, I mentally thanked them for their silence and my privacy.

Donald input a four digit code into the keypad on the side of the Highwind, which opened a panel beside it for us to walk inside to the cockpit. The hatch sealed behind us once the three of us had cleared it and several lights flickered on down the hallway. "This looks a lot bigger on the inside than it does on the outside," I said. A few doors dotted the hallway with one large door at the end leading to the cockpit.

"This isn't the first time you've been in here, Kairi," Donald said, turning his head to look behind to me.

"I don't exactly remember a lot of that day, Donald…." I said almost inaudibly.

Donald must have heard me. His expression changed to a more somber one and he faced forward once again. "I'm sorry we couldn't stop him, Kairi. I'm sorry we couldn't find another way to free your heart."

I touched his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Donald. You and Goofy did all you could and you were friends to Sora when Riku and I were absent," I said reassuringly.

Goofy pulled us all into a group hug, much to Donald's somewhat comedic protest. It was warm, nice, and almost made me forget the gravity of the whole situation.

Almost.

I'd never truly forget, and I'd never forgive Ansem for setting these events into motion.

Donald and Goofy showed me to my quarters. It wasn't a large room by any means, but it was big enough for my few things. It had a bunk built into the wall, a bulletin board across from the bed, and a small desk with a lamp and a couple drawers. I laid my belt across the desk and crawled into my bunk. Jiminy opened his pocket and hopped out to stand on the desk. "You think you can beat him, Kairi?"

"I guess I have to," I replied. "Fight Ansem or let the whole universe fall into Darkness, those are my only choices."

"I suppose you're right," he said. "I think you can do it, though. You have me, Donald, and Goofy with you every step of the way."

"Yeah, you're right Jiminy," I said, trying to sound convincing. Deep down I wasn't sure. I mean, I had grown from nothing to at least somewhat capable with my Keyblade, but would "somewhat capable" be good enough? I didn't want to rely on my friends as a crutch to just let me muddle through, but what could I do? My magic was the best ability I had going for me, but still my most powerful spell was Thundara. Donald could perform Thundaga. Donald was also in his thirties, though, so comparing myself was unfair. Still, I couldn't help but do it. I wanted to be stronger. I needed to be stronger.

Our flight was going to be a long one, so Donald and Goofy manned the helm while I tried to get a bit of rest. As I changed into my more comfortable pajamas, I noticed some things about myself in the mirror across from me. Before all this, I had the form of an average fourteen year old girl. I was soft, slight, and very much youthful. Now, I had much more tone to myself. The roundness was gone from my cheeks and my arms had thickened and bulged with the beginnings of strong muscles. My stomach had become harder with the slight appearance of my abdominal muscles. I looked a lot like Riku and Wakka, now. The Keyblade wasn't as heavy in my hands as it had been when I first wielded it. I looked much older, and honestly I felt much older now. Mentally, I had aged several years in just a month and a half. My fifteenth birthday was coming up in just four months, but I wasn't looking to celebrate it. Part of me was preparing to not be alive long enough to see it.

I drifted off to sleep relatively quickly. I needed the rest so I could fight Ansem once we reached Hollow Bastion.

"_You want to go WHERE on a WHAT?" Sora picked his ear with his little finger to make sure something wasn't obstructing his hearing. I sat across from him at the lunch table with Riku sitting to my left. _

"_You heard me, Sora," Riku said bluntly. "I want to build a raft and use it to get to the outside world."_

"_But how far could a raft take us?" he asked. _

_I listened to the two boys go back and forth, bouncing ideas off one another while I finished my lunch. It slowly developed from a simple idea to a concrete plan. Building materials, lists of provisions, and even routes were discussed for the rest of our forty-five minute period._

The roar of the engine jolted me out of my sleep. I sat up and sighed. "How far could that raft have taken us…" I asked myself. I'd never find out. I changed back into my normal clothes and joined Donald and Goofy in the bridge. The vast expanse of space stretched out endlessly before me. The colors of the gas clouds created a beautiful swirl of blues and greens. "I doubt the raft we built would have taken us through this."

"No, you would have died really quick out there," Donald chimed. He had long since activated the ship's autopilot and was kicked back with his webbed feet on the dashboard, careful to not hit any important levers or knobs. "You wouldn't even have made it off your world."

I was still unsure how serious our plans to leave on the raft actually had been. We were going to go through with embarking, for sure, but something told me in the back of my mind that, once the last coconut was gone, Sora would beg us to turn back and I would agree. We would return to warm blankets and worried parents. Maybe we'd have at least a week of being grounded. It's not like we were some expert survivalists. We were a bunch of fourteen year old kids whose biggest problems were trying to smuggle extra ketchup into the cafeteria and what we'd do after school on a given day. Just two boys who were like brothers and their alien best friend who couldn't remember a thing about her homeworld, that was all we were. We didn't expect any of this to happen and I certainly didn't expect to lose them to Death and Darkness so soon.

I took my seat on the far end of the cockpit from Goofy with Donald in the middle at the helm. The seat was much more comfortable than I had anticipated with the somewhat sterile appearance of the ship's interior. Compared to the extremely bright orange and yellow outside, the inside was a stark silver with patches of of black and white on the ceiling and floors. I looked at my new companions with a small smile. Maybe we did stand a chance.

Maybe, we'd find out soon because the ship suddenly came under fire from out of nowhere. We were shaken from our relaxed postures. Donald made a loud "squawk" sound and Goofy fell completely out of his seat. I remained seated, but only barely as another laser struck our hull. "What hit us?" I asked, wincing from the pain in my back.

"Heartless!" Goofy climbed back up to his seat and grabbed a control stick with several buttons beside it. He pressed them in varying combinations while moving the stick in circular motions. Several of the ships before us exploded in showers of scrap Gummi blocks. Donald maneuvered us through the cloud of rubble and asteroids, trying to lead the Heartless ships into traps. "Kairi, watch the shields. The green meter on your control panel tells you how much we have left."

My meter was about three fourths the way full. "Shields are around seventy-five percent, Donald," I said, shifting my gaze between the instrumentation and the action happening outside. They retaliated against our attackers with a skill that told me this wasn't their first dogfight and they didn't intend on it being their last. Somehow, they managed to keep the fight up while maintaining our course toward Hollow Bastion without much deviation from the set flight path. We wouldn't lose any time from this, so that was a positive.

Soon, all the enemies were destroyed and the space around us became quiet. Donald slumped over in his chair and sighed. "That was close. How are our shields, Kairi?" he asked once more.

I looked down at my monitor and saw we were at just above fifty percent. "They're about halfway," I said.

He huffed and straightened out in his seat. "They'll recharge, then," he said. "They only need fixing if they dip below fifteen."

I nodded and laid back in my seat. "How much longer until we reach Hollow Bastion?"

"We're here," Goofy interjected. I peered out the window to see the world before us, or at least I thought it was supposed to be a world. A planetary fragment dominated by high mountains and a large castle drew closer to us. It was bleak and depressing to see what the Heartless had done to this world. With a castle so grand, the world must have been glorious before it had been destroyed. My heart ached, a familiarity of its suffering flooding my deepest emotions. "This was….this was my homeworld," I said.

"What?" Donald asked.

"This world, Hollow Bastion, it's where I was born. I don't know how, but I just know it. This place was my old home," I repeated. "I don't remember anything, but I have this ache in my heart. I'm sad..." My face contorted into a frown and I hung my head low.

"We'll fix this, Kairi," Goofy said. "Once we beat Ansem, the worlds will go back to the way they were."

"Are you sure, Goofy?" I asked, looking at him hopefully.

"I'm positive. If we beat him, it'll all be set right!"

"Thanks, Goofy," I said.

Donald brought us in to land on a small island close to the castle. A large sea dominated what land was left. We would teleport close to the castle and begin our ascent to the Keyhole so I could lock it and fix this mess before it got worse.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: So I want to know what you guys think of it so far. I know it's getting a slow start, but this is going to be an extremely long story so I have time for buildup. Next chapter will have more action, I'm sure almost all of you know what's coming next. Thanks for taking the time to read and please leave a review of what you thought.<p> 


	3. The Keyhole

The steps were slippery from the mist of the rising falls around us. My clothes and hair were damp by the time we made it to the top. I looked ahead at the giant castle in front of us. I could see why it dominated the world chunk that we now stood on. I didn't notice Donald and Goofy taking longer to climb up than I had until they appeared beside me, soaking from the same mist. I stepped forward onto the lift and motioned them to follow me. The sea stretched out beneath us in a breathtaking panorama. It was such a different color from the sea I knew. This was gray and restless, complete opposite to the clear, peaceful blue of my home world's ocean. It was also very cold. The air, the mist from the falls, everything was deathly cold. I wished I had slipped on my sweater, but I was counting on at least being out of the wind as soon as we entered the castle.

As soon as we stepped off the lift, we were ambushed by several dozen Heartless. Several Wyverns circled above us while a group of Wizards advanced from all sides, backing us to the ledge where the lift had disappeared. My heel slipped at the edge and I looked back. I couldn't see the sea beneath us, our current position was too high above the clouds, but I knew it was there. At least, I hoped it was there. Donald cast Thundaga and sent the Wyverns spiraling down. They weren't dead, just stunned. I tossed my Keyblade in a Strike Raid attack and destroyed two of them going forward and a Wizard on the return trip. I smirked, proud of my kill, and turned my attention back to the ledge. "Donald, Goofy, do you trust me yet?"

"Well yeah, Kairi, of course we do," Goofy said as his shield returned after a well-aimed toss was blocked by a Defender. Donald nodded in agreement and cast a Blizzaga spell to stun Defender before it could shoot a Firaga ball. "Why do ya ask?"

I didn't say a word. I simply grabbed them both by their collars and jumped backwards. The direct route was far too well-guarded. Donald and Goofy both screamed as we fell, but I remained calm. I had to trust there would be water beneath us.

I was partially right, but almost wrong.

The three of us fell into a large body of ice cold water just a few meters away from the frozen ledge. Donald climbed out first, shaking his tail feathers dry. I helped Goofy out of the water and used an Aerora spell to dry us all off quickly. "Kairi what were you thinking?" Donald yelped.

"I was thinking of a way to get us out of there so those Heartless wouldn't kill me and drag you into their ranks. I lost my heart once, I don't think I could survive losing it again," I defended.

"Well a little warning would be nice next time you do something that almost gets us killed!" he quacked. "At least I recognize where we are. There's another elevator in the castle basement through those doors." Donald pointed to a balcony just to our north-east. A few ice platforms across the area lined up at just the right heights for us to climb up onto the balcony. I led the way to them and the three of us helped each other up.

Once we entered the doors, Donald led us to a lift similar to the one we'd taken to the castle gates. It was housed in a large, cylindrical room that didn't seem to be visible from outside. The domed ceiling was made of stained glass arranged in very vibrant patterns. It was a beautiful sight, the way the light reflected and refracted throughout the room. The higher up, the more beautiful it was. Donald, Goofy, and I stepped onto the lift and it carried us to a platform above and to the right of our starting location. There were two doors. One led downstairs, the other upstairs. We wanted to go up, so I led the way to a sort of balcony. We were met with opposition. Wyverns appeared before us with a couple Wizards and Green Requiem Heartless as support. I summoned my Keyblade and looked at Donald and Goofy. We gave each other understanding nods and charged toward our enemies. The Heartless this time were fewer than the overwhelming hoard we'd encountered at the gates. It wasn't long before they were all destroyed and we could move up to the next levels.

We found ourselves in a large chapel. At the opposite end stood five young women dressed in various different styles of clothing. My heart was filled with a familiar warmth as we drew closer. They were like me, I knew it. I approached one, a dark-skinned girl in a blue tube top and pants with long black hair and warm brown eyes. She looked at Donald and Goofy with a smile. "Donald, Goofy, and you must be the Seventh Princess," she said. "Your Light feels like our own. I'm Jasmine."

I nodded. "Yeah, my name's Kairi. You know them?" I asked, looking back at Donald and Goofy.

"I do," she said. "They tried to rescue me on my homeworld before I was kidnapped and brought here by a boy with silver hair."

A boy with silver hair? Did she mean Riku? I didn't know the full extent of what Riku had done, and Donald and Goofy were reluctant to tell me much about their previous exploits with Sora in what I only guessed was due to sharing my grief over his loss. All I knew was Riku had joined Maleficent in order to find a way to bring my heart back to me, and that was the full extent of my knowledge. I didn't know kidnapping was also within his capabilities. I was right all those months ago while confiding in Sora at the docks, telling him Riku had changed. He really had changed, and not for the better it seemed. But...he also saved me from Ansem and the Heartless after I woke up, so maybe he wasn't too far gone? I didn't know. All I knew was that I had to find him, seal this Keyhole, and defeat Ansem so we could return home together.

Jasmine pointed to a hallway at our right. "The Final Keyhole is through that corridor. Be careful."

"I will, don't worry." I bid her farewell and turned on my heel toward the corridor. Donald and Goofy said their goodbyes to Jasmine and the other Princesses expressed their hopes of good luck toward us.

The door led us to the highest platform in the stained-glass room I now figured to be the center of the castle. Shadow Heartless appeared before us, but were easily struck down. We'd already fought much worse than these basic enemies. I proceeded through the door into the room where my life changed forever.

I stared up at the Keyhole, a large heart-shaped portal glowing with dark blues and reds and greens. To think I helped make that...awful source of Darkness...made my stomach churn. Donald, Goofy, and I ran down the hall and up the stairs just in time to see Ansem, wide grin on his face, sink into the Darkness. "Ansem come back!" I screamed, hurling my Keyblade in his direction. I was too late. Oathkeeper passed harmlessly through wisps of Darkness and Ansem was already long gone. I fell to my knees. "We're too late. He got away."

Goofy stepped closer to the Keyhole and examined it. "We still need to seal it before he can come back with more Heartless."

I stood to my feet and walked to the Keyhole. I tried to pretend I didn't notice the dried blood and absence of Sora's body. I didn't want to think of what could possibly have happened to him. I pushed the feelings back as much as I could. I was here to do a job, not to grieve any more than I already had. "We don't know what's on the other side of this portal. Ansem could be there, anything could be there. You ready?"

My companions nodded and I led the way through the thick Darkness. It was almost too much for me to bear, but the feeling eased as we passed through the other side. We were in a large room made completely of green and purple Darkness. At the far end was a large keyhole surrounded by a heart-shaped crest. It shined with what little Light was still left in this husk of a world. I summoned my Keyblade and attempted to seal it, but stopped as I heard thunderous footsteps coming from beyond the Keyhole. Slowly, a giant Heartless materialized before us. It stood at least thirty feet tall. Its hide was purple and its form muscular. It moved slowly on its four cloven hooves and created shockwaves as it walked. Two large tusks protruded from its lower jaw, curving inward at the peak of the horn in the middle of its forehead. The Heartless let out a loud, low roar and reared back on its hind legs. Goofy shoved me and Donald out of the way and dove to the right just before it could come down on top of us. "Did Ansem send this to get rid of us?" I asked rhetorically as I regained my footing and helped Donald stand up. Donald cast a Thundaga spell and the lightning bolts arced to its horn. The beast reeled in pain. "Donald, Goofy, get me up to that horn."

Goofy knelt down in front of me and held his shield above his head. With a nudge from Donald, I stood on top of the shield and jumped to run along the creature's arched back. With all my strength, I unloaded an Ars Arcanum onto the horn, breaking chunks of the brittle protrusion with each swipe. Before I could deal the finishing blow, however, I was thrown back to the ground. The Behemoth charged a mass of energy at the tip of its horn and slowly raised it up. The ball shot quickly into the air and dispersed into several dozen smaller balls. Goofy blocked them with his shield while Donald and I dodged out of the way. "One more oughta get him," Goofy said. "The horn is wobblin' around!"

With that, I decided to risk it. I stood directly in front of the Heartless and reeled back. It raised on its hind legs and threatened to crush me. I only had one shot. With all my strength, I hurled Oathkeeper upwards. It connected and severed the Behemoth's horn. The Heartless cried out in pain and started fading out of existence. Five hearts floated into the air above my head as the fading form safely fell through me into nothingness.

"Kairi, you did it!" a voice from the other end of the portal called. I recognized it as belonging to Leon. Donald, Goofy, and I exited the portal to find Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith by the control panel on the opposite end of the platform.

"How did you guys get here?" I asked. It was odd seeing them all the way out here.

"Cid's ship," Yuffie chimed. "The old coot is still making repairs."

"We wanted to see our old home again," Aerith added.

"This was your homeworld too?" I asked.

"Yup!" Yuffie said as she laid back on the railing, perfectly balanced so she wouldn't fall over the other side.

"This place is in worse shape than I thought," Leon said. "A lot worse."

"But once you defeat Ansem, it'll all be restored, even your island will be," Aerith said.

My face lit up with a large smile, but was quickly sent crashing down. "But it also means goodbye," Yuffie said.

Leon sighed. "Once all the worlds are restored, they'll be scattered and disconnected again. Gummi ships won't work. Impassable walls will divide them once again."

"The Heartless destroyed the walls," Yuffie said. "They'll be repaired."

"So you're saying we'll never…"

"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other," Leon said, interrupting me.

Aerith added, "Our hearts will remain connected, no matter where we are."

Our touching moment was brought to an end when I heard Donald and Goofy yelp behind me. I turned to find even more Darkness pouring from the Keyhole. "Kairi! Quick, come and close the Keyhole!" Goofy yelled.

Just as I turned to walk away, Leon put his hand on my shoulder. "Good luck, Kairi. He'd be proud of you." I didn't have to ask who "he" was. I already knew. I gave him a nod and walked back into the portal of Darkness.

I stood a few meters away from the bright Keyhole. The Light had almost been completely replaced by Darkness. I held out Oathkeeper and aimed at the small hole. I was nervous. This was the first Keyhole I had ever sealed, merely finishing the job Sora had started earlier in the year. A beam of Light shot from the tip of my Keyblade into the hole. The wall began to shimmer with a bright Light and I heard a loud locking sound. I lowered Oathkeeper and dismissed it, satisfied with the job I had done. The Keyhole disappeared and the chaos around me ceased. Things may have gotten worse than they were before I woke up, but now they wouldn't get any worse than they already were.

I was still hyped up from the fight against the giant Heartless. My second wind hit hard, I felt as if I could fight off an army of Heartless.

I thought I was going to get my wish as I saw one of the other Princesses, the shortest blonde one who wore a blue dress and white apron, running toward us. "Kairi, you have to come quick. Something's happened in the chapel. We can sense a great Darkness coming from a portal."

Donald, Goofy and I entered the chapel to find the Corridor of Darkness that had previously been just a small patch of purple and black against the wall had become a massive portal to somewhere unknown. I turned to them, making sure they were ready. "Do you guys need to rest? I mean, we just fought that giant Heartless."

Donald shook his head. "We should take care of all this world's problems before we rest. It wouldn't be right to just leave this alone." Goofy nodded in agreement.

I shrugged my shoulders and pressed on. We appeared at the other side of the portal in a round room. The ceiling stretched higher than any I've seen in the castle to date. It must have been one of the large spires. At the other side of the room, a man in a black coat appeared. He was tall, intimidatingly so. I studied him, his slow, deliberate movements. "You're just like her," he whispered. I wasn't sure if I actually heard him or if he was speaking into my mind.

"What's that supposed to mean? Who is 'she?" I asked, puzzled.

"I will test your power," he said, ignoring my question. A blue ball of energy appeared in his hand. Instinctively, I raised my Keyblade as he turned to fire a bolt of electricity toward me. I stood firm against the powerful blast and redirected it to the ceiling. The impact caused some rubble to crash around us, but I stood my ground. I glared at the man. "Prepare yourself, Kairi."

I didn't even have time to ask how he knew my name before he was on top of me. Two red energy sabers slashed at my waist. I parried them with my Keyblade and jumped back. Donald and Goofy tried to help, but they both were knocked back by a barrier he created, knocking the two out cold. It was one on one now. I jumped out of the way of his slashes, attempting to regain my footing so I could at least try to enter his guard. He was fast, much faster than I. I could hardly keep up. As I got further away from him, he fired two more of the electric orbs my way. I rolled out of the way and hurled my Keyblade at him. He simply raised another barrier and it clanked uselessly to the ground. I called it back in time to block a downward slash that quite possibly would have killed me. I was no longer fighting to win, I was fighting for my life.

With a bit of strength, I pushed him away and cast a Cura spell on myself to renew some energy. It wasn't much, but I was able to get enough energy to keep fighting. I went for the offensive. I hit his stomach with the blunt end of my Keyblade and he fell back. I followed up with a Sonic dash and managed to clip his coat. I didn't know how long I could keep this assault up, especially given he seemed to have much more experience than I did. I was barely a fighter, with only a month of real experience, but I had to do this. I would die otherwise and then no one would stand against Ansem. I huffed, wiped some blood from my mouth, and followed up with an Ars Arcanum. I wasn't sure how many of the hits connected, but I was sure enough did. I hoped so, anyway. My body felt heavy. I was losing strength fast. I looked at my adversary, and he barely had a scratch. The only visible mark on him was where I had torn his coat at the tail end. He simply brushed himself off and maintained a barrier between us. "I see...you do possess great strength, but is it enough?"

"What are you talking about? How do you know who I am?" I demanded. "Tell me who you are!"

"We will meet again," he said, slowly fading into a portal behind him.

I leaped forward, aiming my Keyblade at his face, but it was too late. He was already gone and Donald and Goofy were just now waking up. "Kairi, are you okay?" Goofy asked. I sat on my hands and knees. "What happened? Did ya beat him?"

"No, Goofy...he got away," I said in sheer defeat. "Just...who was that man?" I wanted to know. Those cryptic words of his, how he said we would meet again. How did he know me? Why did he want to test my strength? I guess I would just have to wait and find out.


End file.
